For the first time since Colorado's historic flooding began last week, nature gave residents and rescuers a rain-free day, allowing emergency crews to bring help to stranded people and helicopters to ferry the willing to safety.

Thousands of people across a broad swath of the Front Range were still kept out of their homes — or trapped in them — by floodwaters.

State officials estimate about 600 people are still stranded in isolated areas. Some of them remained behind even when they were offered escape.

At least 100 people have hunkered down in Pinewood Springs, telling rescuers they will rely on gas-powered generators and trips to Estes Park to resupply as they protect their deluged community from vandals and looters.

FEMA personal are hoisted into a helicopter during search-grid flights by Fort Carson troops near Boulder. (Joe Amon, The Denver Post)

Frustrated rescue workers showed holdouts pictures of flood-damaged roads to reinforce that this could be their last chance to catch a flight out.

"Larimer County doesn't own any helicopters and won't be able to do any food and water drops," Larimer County Sheriff spokesman Nick Christensen said. "If they don't take this opportunity now, they may be there for a very long time."

Alaska bush pilot Steve Novakovich, 75, said he was prepared for the aftermath of the rains and flooding that pounded his house in Pinewood Springs, but the days leading up to the dry-out were harrowing.

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He and his wife, Roma, 70, heeded the emergency flash-flood warnings that went out early Thursday and drove to a high point on their road outside town at 2 a.m. For two hours, they listened as "trees snapped like toothpicks" under the weight of vehicle-sized boulders rolling down the roaring river that had been just a trickle the week before.

"I was afraid it was going to take the house," he said.

By Friday, his neighbor's home had washed into the creek. All utilities were cut.

During the several days they were stranded, the Novakoviches kept busy winterizing their house. They had regular visits from volunteer firefighters who kept the community up to date. Each day, they hiked up the hill behind their home to use a cellphone to talk to family and friends for a few minutes.

Their pantry was stocked, and their generator fueled, but with the main road to civilization knocked out, Novakovich said the decision to leave was easy — once he figured out what to do with a $700 shipment of salmon and halibut that arrived from Alaska just before the flooding started.

Michael Gessner tries to air out the garage in the home where he grew up on Tuesday, September, 17, 2013. Gessner says his dogs were stranded in the home for three days alone before he could get in to rescue them. (Kathryn Scott Osler, The Denver Post)

That some stayed behind to keep watch made the decision to flee Pinewood Springs a bit easier for others, said a man who would only give his first name, Gary.

"Everybody hated to leave their homes," he said. "But you start thinking about it, and you realize you can't stick around there."

The scale of the destruction and losses already tolled had state officials looking to history in search of comparison.

In terms of property, the flooding has been the most destructive natural disaster to hit Colorado since at least 1965, when the South Platte jumped its banks and roared through downtown Denver and the Eastern Plains, said Tom Noel, professor of history at the University of Colorado Denver.

Recovery will be agonizingly slow.

In Evans on Tuesday, frustration spilled out for a few hundred residents attending a town meeting. About 200 mobile homes and at least 60 houses will be uninhabitable after waters recede, town officials said.

"My 2-year-old wants to know when she can go home, and here 90 percent of the people just want to know when they can take a shower," said Selina Merkt, whose family is living with friends. Their home on the east side of Evans has waist-deep water in the basement and may be condemned.

Larimer County alone estimated that flooding has destroyed at least 1,500 homes. Boulder, Weld and other counties were still assessing the damage.

In many areas, the only way to do that was from the air. On Tuesday, the number of National Guard helicopter rescue missions in Boulder County had slowed, and crews shifted their focus to surveying the flooded areas to check on residents who decided to stay in their homes.

Sgt. 1st Class Keith Bart and Staff Sgt. Jose Pantoja leaned out the open sides of a Black Hawk as it flew out of Boulder Municipal Airport and toward the foothills. The crew, based at Fort Carson, has been plucking stranded people from mountain towns for almost a week.

As the helicopter moved deeper into the canyons, it passed over ruined roads. In some areas, slabs of pavement piled up against the canyon wall as murky floodwaters continued to wash over them. In other parts, there was no evidence a road ever existed.

The landscape in the foothills west of Boulder was almost unrecognizable. Narrow streets and storefronts that marked the mountain towns — such as Jamestown and Lyons — had been reduced to mudslides and piles of wood and siding. Mud cemented tumbled cars into place.

Below, residents shoveled muck and rubble from their driveways. Others hauled boxes and bags out of homes and buildings. Some simply stared at the brown, churning water still rushing through their towns.

All looked up, waved and went about their business.

Bart then noticed two red scarves being waved in circles from the deck of a home near Jamestown.

The helicopter slowed and hovered low over the home while Bart and Pantoja went into action. They swiftly navigated the complex winch system, clipping into one harness, letting go of another. Within minutes, Pantoja was on his way down.

Bart watched and slowly lowered Pantoja until the line went slack.

On the ground, Pantoja helped secure two women, each carrying two heavy backpacks, into a harness. As Bart slowly brought the pair up, the weight steadied the helicopter and the winch slowly turned until Bart pulled the women into the cabin.

Dazed and exhausted, the women were strapped into their seats. They appeared uninjured.

The women waved and smiled at Pantoja when he crawled back into the helicopter and gave thumbs-up as the Black Hawk sped toward Boulder. The thump of the heavy blades drowned the women's laughter, but their relief was obvious.

Within minutes of dropping off the women, the crew returned to the foothills.

Deeper into the canyons, the sunshine revealed the overwhelming devastation.

Splintered homes were scattered at the edge of the river that ripped them apart. A shingled roof sprawled out across the bank. Its foundation was nowhere in sight.

The walls of one home had been torn away. The dining room was an eerie shadowbox, with the table still in place.

Some homes appeared untouched. Colorful flowers bloomed on the doorstep of one home. Across the street, a couch had been washed into the front yard.

In most towns, the roads were filled with drying mud.

In Salina, the Little Church in the Pines, which survived the Fourmile fire in 2010, dangled precariously over the edge of a steep bank, where the floodwaters had washed away the earth beneath it.

The Salvation Army: Help those affected during the days ahead and during long-term recovery. The Salvation Army uses 100 percent of your disaster donations in support of local relief operations. To give, visit imsal vationarmy.org or call 1-800-SAL-ARMY (1-800-725-2769) and designate "Colorado Floods." You may also text GIVEHOPEIM to 80888 to donate $10 to The Salvation Army. Donations by mail may be designated "Colorado Floods" and sent to:

The Salvation Army

P.O. Box 60006

Prescott, AZ 86304

Red Cross: To help people affected by disasters like these floods, people can donate by visiting redcross.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS or texting the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Contributions may also be made by visiting ColoradoRed Cross.org.

Foothills United Way: The Foothills Flood Relief Fund is responding to the impacts of the flood. Organizers expect to use this fund for immediate relief as well as longer-term recovery in Boulder and Broomfield counties. The Fund is accessible online at united wayfoothills.org/floodrelief.

St. Vrain Flooding Relief Fund: Proceeds from the St. Vrain Flooding Relief Fund will go directly toward recovery efforts for the Longmont community. Donate online at longmontfoundation.org or by calling 303-678-6555.

Safe and Well: Family and friends can search a list of those affected by the floods who have registered themselves as "safe and well." Search or register by going to safeandwell.org.

The Bridge House: The Boulder day shelter and social service provider for the homeless, is seeking donations of shoes, socks and outerwear beginning Monday at 7 a.m., 1120½ Pine St., Boulder (behind the First Congregational Church).

Larimer Humane Society: If you are in a flooding area and need assistance with your animals, visit larimerhu mane.org, call 970-226-3647, Ext. 7 (Animal Protection and Control).

The Boulder Humane Society is available to accept animals needing shelter for those evacuated in Boulder County. For immediate assistance, call Animal Care and Control at 303-441-3333 or visit boulderhumane.org.

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